Weekend Whipper: Climber Rips Gear—Wait, Was That a Bolt?
That could have been a lot worse.
That could have been a lot worse.
"The [route] description ironically says something like 'Don't blow the mantle at the top...' "
“But watching them climb got me psyched, and the upper crux felt very easy on top rope, so I thought I should just go for it.”
This one's got to hurt.
About as clean as any gear-ripper can be, anyway.
Watching Siegrist climb, it’s pretty clear why he thinks most climbers do “too much training and not enough practice.”
"It took me a few attempts of climbing higher and higher above the last two pieces to eventually feel confident to commit to the final runout."
Did anyone else feel their ankle snap just watching that? No? Just us? No matter—the climber, Maissa, is A-OK.
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This belayer had the best of intentions. At least the only victim was himself—and his lawn chair.
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Who said sport climbers can't take gear rippers?
The Gorge is a "wild land of superb and serious climbing where every climb is unique, and demands technical skill, unadulterated burliness, and usually a key piece of gear that keeps it G rated."
We hate to lay blame. But it couldn't have hurt...
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This is a contender for "best whip of the year."
The climber walked away unscathed, much to our surprise.
Shinichiro Nomura, 25, sent "Gakido" (V16), in Fukushima, Japan–a project that had denied 20 years of attempts.
Indeed, all is well until it’s not.
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Hand-placed beaks, anyone?
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The end of a climbing trip can be a glorious, chain-slapping time—but there's another side to this romanticism.
Pulling the lip is widely considered to be the crux, but it's only until you've nailed the sneaky right-to-left crack switch that you are in the clear.
On top of the sustained and low-percentage 5.14 climbing, the crux comes at the very top—the final four moves—while facing a gut-wrenching fall.
A failed clip, an inverted whip, nearly decks ... what the heck?
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This fall logs about as many air miles as one could hope for while still walking away intact.
Jorge Díaz-Rullo spent sixty days alone in his van working on Chris Sharma's "El Bon Combat."
Two routes, two climbers, and a shared finish. What could go wrong?
"The South is full of these quiet figures in the climbing community—people who have put up some hard, scary, beautiful, hard-to-find routes and problems. I think there is something special about recognizing these folks."
"A hodgepodge of slightly newer hardware dots the cliff, a marker of all the old bolts that have ripped and needed replacement over the years.”
After 19 days in Dry Canyon, Arizona, at the Celebrity Cave, 23-year-old Ben Hanna put down an impressive list of 5.14's.
How do you belay “correctly” on a big free route? Well, it's complicated, but this whipper provides several solid tips.
"It wasn’t the experience I’d signed up for, but a more challenging experience I’ll learn from. I’m glad I didn’t back down that day."
"This particular route has three pegs and an ice screw—which apparently fit really well in a pocket, so there it stayed."
This Weekend Whipper does almost everything right. Almost.
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Mari Salvesen is the second person to flash Belly Full of Bad Berries in Indian Creek, Utah.
"I went for the wrong move that I knew I couldn't land anyways. That's when the rope flew behind my leg mid fall and flipped me upside down."
This climber's first trad lead nearly ended in disaster.
Barbara "Babsi" Zangerl and Jacopo Larcher are one of climbing's most dominant trad-climbing couples. They have sent up to 5.14 together, alongside several free routes on El Capitan. Last year, they travelled to Annot, France, to explore one of the country's hardest trad lines: Le Voyage (E10/5.14 R), and to document their process.
This Weekend Whipper is a reminder that even the pros take awkward, cringe-worthy tumbles. And, sometimes, their fellow-pro spotter gets squashed.
This Weekend Whipper is lucky he didn't break any fingers—or impale his hand.
"It's very easy to lose track of where the rope is," the filmer told Climbing. "Before you know it, you look behind your leg and there it is. [There's] not much you can do but have a crack."
There are two miracles in this week's whipper: 1) He survived. 2) He caught the fall on video.
James Pearson couldn't be bothered to clip the bolt at his waist, and he logged some serious air miles while climbing above 13,000 feet.
Kai Lightner's foundation, Climbing for Change, partnered with Kevin Jorgeson and 1Climb to build a climbing wall in College Park, Georgia.
This Weekend Whipper isn't gory or violent, rather it's a reminder that lead falls can be simply awkward, graceless moments.
Hard climbing, spread-out bolts, a botched clip... all the fixings for a classic whipper.
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"It resulted in a somersault of Olympic quality and a pretty swollen elbow."
Check out The Editors's author page.
Three adventurers attempt to kite ski across Antarctica to make a first ascent on one of the most remote 2000m peaks in the world.
Three adventurers attempt to kite ski across Antarctica to make a first ascent on one of the most remote 2000m peaks in the world.
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Check out The Editors's author page.
Check out The Editors's author page.
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Check out The Editors's author page.
Reel Rock's "Age of Ondra Part II" follows Adam from Spain to Canada to France as he tries to make the first 5.15a flash.